Under the Radar
by prothalla
Summary: Tony finds out what Carol has really been doing since she disappeared.
1. Chapter 1

It had been over six months since his brain tumour. Months since everything Tony thought he knew about his life turned out to be only surface information. As he walked the halls of Bradfield University it struck him that his life had not been this confusing since he muddled his way through puberty as a teenager.

Normally when he found himself puzzled about something, he would get in his car and drive until he found Carol Jordan, but he couldn't do that this time. Carol had left, disappeared without a word; gone to the other side of the planet. Before he got the chance to sink into an internal quandary about his friends unusual disappearance his cell phone rang. Checking the caller ID he saw that it was DI Alex Fielding.

"Alex, how are you?"

-- "Hi Tony, sorry to bother you, but I have something I need your opinion on."

"Oh what's that Alex?"

-- "It would make more sense if you just come here and see for yourself, I'm at the apartments near Manning Warehouse, Number 21. Get here as soon as you can."

Before he had a chance to reply, Tony heard the dial tone in his ear. Without stopping to think he turned back down the hall and made his way to the car strangely exuberated by the fact that somebody needed him.

As he was pulling up to the apartment block, Tony could see a gathering of police officers to one side of the yard. It was obvious, that whatever went down had been big. Stepping out of the car he saw Alex wave, calling him to her side.

-- "Thanks for coming Tony"

"Not a problem Alex, what's going on… it looks like someone sent out invites to the entire Bradfield Police Force"

Looking around her surroundings Alex sighed heavily. This night would remain in her mind for a long time to come.

-- "Come with me its better if you see for yourself"

The pair ducked under the yellow taped and headed towards the charred remains of a building. On the ground in front of them were three body bags, each filled with remains that if weren't for the clothing you wouldn't believe that they were human. While the scene was disturbing to look at, Tony couldn't understand why this crime had brought out a large number of the BPD.

"Alex, what's going on? Why are there so many police officers here?"

For the first time since he met her Alex looked disheartened, as if the fight were just too much for her anymore.

-- "They were us Tony. These three people, were cops… and we killed them"

"What do you mean Alex, how did you kill them, what happened?"

-- "We received a tip on the drug hotline telling us that a deal was going down tonight; a big deal. Eden heard and insisted that we gather a SWAT team and make the bust as soon as possible. When we got here there were cars outside, we watched for a while and saw people coming and going. Something was definitely going on. By the time the fifth person had came and gone Eden was in a hurry for us to stop anyone else from going in… He ordered us to ram the building, to hit it full force. So we did…….."

"So you did your job, what's the problem Alex?"

-- "It was a safe house Tony. This apartment was a safe house."

"How did you not know it was a safe house? Shouldn't you have a list of these things locked away in a file somewhere?"

Before she had a chance to respond Kevin and Paula walked up to the pair. Both looked shaken. At closer glance Tony could see tears in their eyes.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going has everyone so rattled?"

Kevin lifted his hand, in it a plastic evidence bag containing what appeared to be a police ID. On closer inspection Tony could see the outline of a face.

"Oh my god… it can't be, it doesn't make any sense. How can this be real?"

There in his hand was Carol Jordan's Police identification card.

-- "I did some checking, it turns out that Carol never went to South Africa. Apparently she was recruited for an under the radar job. She wasn't able to tell anyone what she was really doing."

Tony lowered his eyes, he couldn't believe that the women he had known for ten years, had been so close to him all this time.

"Where is she now? I want to speak to her"

-- "She's not here, we've looked everywhere and no-one has seen her."

"Well then that's it… there's nothing to say that she was even here when the raid went down, just because her badge is here it doesn't mean anything. Now I'm sorry but there's clearly nothing here that you need me for so I'm going, I'll be at home if you need to find me."

The drive home was a blur to Tony, streets passed by but he didn't notice until he had pulled up outside his building. Gathering his belongings Tony walked up the steps to his home, his actions almost robotic in nature. Entering his flat Tony threw his keys onto the coffee table and dropped the rest of his belongings onto the floor. At first he didn't notice the person sitting at his kitchen table. Tony proceeded to scan through his mail, as he walked towards the kitchen. The person sitting there 

straightening in his seat. It was then that he looked up and his unread mail fell to the floor. There at his kitchen table sat Carol Jordan.

"Carol?"

-"Tony… I um… I didn't know where else to go"

"What are you doing here? Half of Bradfield Police is out there looking for you; Kevin and Paula think you're dead. What the hell is going on?"

-"I don't know what happened… I was in the bedroom when I heard someone at the door, next thing I know I'm here… how did I get here? I don't remember anything. Oh god…. What happened to them? Sean, Peter and David, are they ok?"

Tony took a step forward and Carol stood. It was then that he was able to see all of her. She looked a lot thinner than the last time he saw her. Her face showed her lack of sleep, as did her stance. Tony knew that telling Carol that the three men who were with her in that apartment were dead was going to hit her hard.

"Carol…. the people at the door, they were the Police. They were sent there because they thought they were breaking up a drug ring. I don't really know the details, but I'm guessing they went in heavy. Carol there was three bodies found at the apartment. I'm guessing they were the people that were with you there. Carol I'm sorry"

"Oh my god… this can't be happening, how is this happening… oh god."

The next thing he knew, Carol was unconscious in his arms. She had collapsed.


	2. Chapter 2

After laying Carol on the couch Tony grabbed the phone and dialled Alex.

"Hey it's me, you should get Kevin and Paula and come over… there's someone they need to see".

Without waiting for a response he ended the call and turned back to look at the women lying on his couch. Without thinking he reached down and brushed a strand of Carol's hair out of her face. It had been a long time since he had the chance to look at her this way. She looked different; something about her had changed, it was if something inside of her had died. Before he could continue his pondering there was a sharp knock at the door. He opened it to Alex, walking up the steps behind her was Paula and Kevin. With a slight nod Tony invited them in.

-- "Tony what's going on?"

Instead of telling them what was going on Tony lead them into the living room where Carol lay. Paula audibly gasped when she saw the women lying on the couch. Kevin just stood there wide eyed with shock; and Alex stood there with a look of curiosity on her face.

Paula was the first to speak "What… what's going on?

Sitting down on the edge of the couch Tony just shrugged. "To be honest I don't know, I came in and she was sitting at the kitchen table. I asked her what was going on, but before she could really tell me anything she collapsed".

Alex began pacing the room, --"This doesn't make any sense... why would we receive a tip saying that there was a drug ring in that apartment? And why wasn't the operation flagged? This doesn't make any sense".

Carol began to stir on the couch, Tony grabbed her just as she was about to fall off the couch. Sitting up in Tony's arms Carol took in her surroundings; she saw four sets of eyes staring down at her. It was only after a few minutes of everyone staring at her that Carol realised that she was still sitting in Tony's arms. She shifted so that she was sitting on the couch beside him, their thighs touching. She needed that bit of contact; she had been without closeness for so long now she had forgotten how good it felt to be near him. The room was silent; it was as if everyone was waiting for her to say something, waiting to see if this was real.

"What… what happened? I don't remember coming here, I shouldn't be here"

Paula was the first to move rushing to hug the woman who were her friend and co-worker for so long. "Oh my god it's so good to see you". Carol returned the hug, and noticed that Kevin was there also. Alex attempted to stay back and out of the way of the reunion taking place not knowing whether or not she should say anything.

Carol pulled back from the arms of her friends "Someone please tell me what I'm doing here, where are the guys… I'm supposed to be with them".

She stood up and if it wasn't for Tony catching her she would have hit the floor. "Carol you're obviously not up to anything other than sitting right now. Let us call a doctor and get you checked out, you've just been blown up god knows what that does to a person".

"No…. no-one else can know that I'm here, they can't know I'm alive…you're already in trouble by my being here, it's best that I just leave so that none of you are in any more danger".

Carol stood to leave again and this time her legs held. She headed towards the door this time her path was blocked by one DI Fielding. "I'm sorry but I can't let you leave, you're the only witness to what went down today, and you're the only person that can properly identify the bodies we recovered. I'm sorry DCI Jordan, but I can't let you just disappear, at least not until the case is solved". To say Carol was shocked would have been an understatement. Who was this woman to stand in her way, to tell her what she could and could not do? Summoning whatever authority she had left Carol stared down the woman who stood in her way. "Forgive me… but last time I checked DCI outranked DI in the police force, and if I'm not mistaken, I hold the higher rank here."

The other three people in the room where shocked by what was taking place before their eyes. Never in the time that they had known Carol Jordan had they seen her play the superior card. It was obvious that whatever it was she was working on was important, and dangerous. Whatever it was was enough to scare the seemingly fearless woman, and see her do anything to go back into hiding.

As shocked as he was Tony knew that he had to step in before something went down between the two women. "Carol maybe we can help with whatever it is that's going on… Alex is right, you can't just disappear, you know that no matter where you go you won't be able to forget about what you saw, I know you Carol, no matter how hard you try you're not the type of person that can just walk away from something like this". They stood there staring at each other, Tony's hands still gently holding Carol's arms. "Talk to me Carol, if you can't talk to anyone else that's fine, but at least tell me what's going on, I deserve that much".

He felt the tension leave Carol's arms. Tuning her gently, he led her back to couch. The lack of space between them when they sat was noted by both Paula and Kevin. It had long been a cause of gossip and speculation among Bradfield Police as to whether or not Carol Jordan and Tony Hill had ever been in a relationship outside of work parameters. Now the two young officers would see first hand the depth of the relationship between Carol and Tony, and the sway that they had over each other.


End file.
